


Certainty

by captainamergirl



Category: Passions (TV)
Genre: A nice day for a white wedding, F/M, Gwen deserved better, Gwen is my favorite Passions character, Interrupted Wedding, One Shot, Who will the bride choose?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 17:46:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14919998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: Wedding interruptus.Or, in which Gwen gets to have her day in the sun.





	Certainty

**Author's Note:**

> A flash fiction I wrote off the cuff for a challenge. I hope it turned out semi-okay. Thank you for reading!

** Certainty **   
  
_“Don’t say yes!”_   
  
Gwen would know that voice anywhere. She just couldn’t understand why he was here, why he was bursting into her wedding, shouting at the top of his lungs, as he charged down the aisle like a madman.   
  
“Gwen, you can’t marry Antonio,” Ethan went on. “You can’t marry him because you belong with me!”   
  
Okay, obviously she was hallucinating. Ethan would never do something like this; and definitely not for her. He had been treating her like gum under his shoe for ages. He’d been so cold to her; especially when she first got out of prison. In fact, he had denied her all contact with their son. It had taken a long, drawn out court battle to finally secure even supervised visitation with Jonathan.    
  
And yet, here he was, screaming out her name, proclaiming he still loved her, that he had made a mistake letting her go.   
  
Her small hands shook in Antonio’s big, strong, steady ones. Antonio, poor, loving, Antonio.   
  
She just stared at the tops of her second-hand Louboutin high heels. She couldn’t bear to meet anyone’s eyes. She couldn’t find the words to speak in that moment either.   
  
“Ethan, what the he-” Antonio started to curse, but cast a sidelong look at Father Lonigan. “What  _the heck_ are you doing? Gwen and I are trying to get married here and you’re already married - to my sister - or have you forgotten?”   
  
“I haven’t, but it’s over between us. Theresa and I are through. For good this time.”   
  
“Hmm, where have we all heard that line before?” Antonio sniffed.   
  
“It’s true. She cheated on me with her ex, Jared Casey. I can’t forgive her for that. And it doesn’t even matter. Because it opened my eyes to the truth. We don’t belong together. We never did. Gwen, you and me though,  _we_ belong together. We always did. I never should have lost sight of that. We fit together. I still love you so much.”   
  
Gwen’s eyes burned but she kept her gaze riveted on her shoes, noting the curve of the stilettos, including the slight scuff on the right toe. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t be.   
  
She heard her mother let out a hoot of joy. “I knew it, Gwen! I knew Ethan would come to his senses and finally see Theresa for the treacherous whore that she really is!” Rebecca crowed. “That chalupa never was any match for you.”   
  
“Whore?” Father Lonigan echoed. “That’s a not a word that should be said in the house of the Lord.” He was ignored.   
  
Antonio narrowed his eyes. “Rebecca, may I remind you that ‘chalupa’ is my sister?” He turned back to Gwen, reaching out and gently running his fingers across her cheek. “Gwen, look at me please. Please. Tell me what you need right now.”   
  
Gwen finally looked up; forced herself to meet his eyes. “I need … I need to speak with Ethan.”   
  
She saw Antonio’s eyes cloud with pain and confusion but he nodded. “Al-alright,” he agreed. “Yeah.” He stepped away from her.   
  
Rebecca gleefully smacked her hands together as Gwen turned to face Ethan. She finally met his blue eyes and gestured for him to follow her out of the chapel.   
  
She led him to the bridal vestibule and they walked inside. He shut the door after them and she noticed the room seemed somehow too small, too cloying. She walked to the window and opened it, looking out at the lovely gardens, remembering suddenly how the last time she had been at this church she had been here to marry Ethan. Instead, he’d married Theresa that day and she’d been hauled off to prison for the next four years.   
  
She let out a shaky breath as she felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder. It felt warm, soft, and familiar. For a moment, she just stood there, lost in the sensation, lost in the past. She remembered what it felt like to love Ethan; what it felt like when she was loved by him. It had been a triumphant feeling. But oh the fall from grace… Oh it had hurt like hell.   
  
She turned around and found herself standing impossibly close to him, her breasts pressed up against his chest. He looked at her with a smile, traced the contours of her lips with his eyes. “I’ve missed you, Gwen. You look so beautiful,” he whispered huskily. He leaned down, seemingly about to kiss her, and for a brief moment, she wanted that kiss. She wanted it as much as she wanted her next breath, but then she slipped away, right underneath his arm and zipped over to a chair, sliding into it, and wrapping her long veil about her like a protective barrier between them.   
  
“Ethan,” she said, “why did you come here? Really? Why can’t you just let me be happy with Antonio?”   
  
“Are you really happy with Antonio though?” Ethan asked.   
  
“Actually yes, I really am, Ethan.”   
  
“Because it seems to me … You’re marrying him because I wasn’t available at the time. And he’s marrying you because Sheridan and Luis got back together.”   
  
“That’s so… Wow, Ethan, does your ego know no bounds?”   
  
“I'm just saying... I still love you, Gwen. And maybe you still love me too.”   
  
“You still love me? Only you just realized this when Theresa betrayed you again. Alright…”   
  
“No, I have always known it. I was just in denial, Gwen. It took this latest incident for me to finally admit that I’ve been stubborn and stupid. I know what I want now, Gwen. I want  _you._ I need  _you.”_ He moved to her, dropping down in front of her, right onto his knees. He reached for her hands. Her skin burned where it touched his. “I am sorry for all of the many ways I have hurt you. I truly am. If you give me another chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for every stupid thing I did. You just have to give me another chance to prove myself.”   
  
“Ethan-”   
  
“Please, Gwen.”   
  
“Ethan, stop. Please. I’m getting married today. Antonio is good for me. He’s amazing to me and I adore him. He’d never hurt me the way you have.”   
  
“Maybe not, but do you love him the way you love me? Do you want a safe, predictable love, Gwen? Because that’s what you’ll get with Antonio. You’ll be settling. You’ll be choosing to settle for less than what your heart truly desires.”   
  
“Those are some big assumptions, Ethan,” Gwen said.   
  
“They’re true though, right?”   
  
“Don’t be so sure.”   
  
Ethan squeezed her tiny fingers. “I am sorry, Gwen. What do I have to do to prove that to you? I made a lot of mistakes; I know that. But I’ve learned from them. I can be different. I can change.”   
  
“You don’t have to, Ethan,” Gwen said. “Because - because …” She felt her eyes start to fill. “I am going to marry Antonio today.”   
  
“What? Why? I came here today, Gwen, told you how I felt… I am pouring out my heart here. I’m telling you I’ll be different. I will be the man you need from now on. The one you deserve.”   
  
“I already have the man I need in Antonio.”   
  
“Gwen-”   
  
“I do, Ethan. Antonio is so good to me. And I love him.”   
  
“Okay, maybe you do. But not the way you love me. It’s a predictable love you and he share, Gwen. It’s a safe love. You're not risking anything by being with him.”   
  
“Well, I risked a helluva lot to be with you and look what it cost me,” Gwen said. “It cost me our daughter, my freedom, my sanity…” Her eyes welled and the tears spilled down her cheeks.   
  
“Gwen, I said I was sorry. How many times -”   
  
“I know you are sorry. I believe that, but I don’t want to go back, Ethan. I can’t. I won’t... So I am  _choosing_ to move forward, okay? I am not choosing a ‘safe’ love, as you put it,” Gwen said. “I am choosing a love that is strong; that is certain; that won’t change or fade. I am choosing a love that lasts.” She pressed her hand to his cheek. “I hope someday you find that kind of love too, whether it’s with Theresa again, or someone else. You deserve it.”   
  
“Gwen, please,” he said. He reached desperately for her hand. “I don’t - I don’t know what to do without you in my life.”   
  
She gently extracted her fingers from his. “I’ll always be a part of your life. You are my son’s father, after all.”   
  
“That’s not what I meant… Gwen, I’m lost here,” he cried desperately.   
  
Gwen’s heart went out to him but she knew she couldn’t save him anymore; she couldn’t go back down that destructive path. She had to choose herself, her happiness, her Antonio. “Ethan, in time, you’ll be alright. You’ll figure things out. I am sorry. That’s all I can offer you. I wish you the best of luck.”   
  
She gave him a soft smile and then slipped out of the room, headed back towards the chapel. She was almost to the chapel doors when Rebecca appeared seemingly out of nowhere and grabbed her by the arm. “Gwennie!” She said. “Where’s Ethan? Are you going to tell Antonio the wedding’s off?”   
  
Gwen looked at her mother, eyes wide, expression incredulous. “Mother, no, I am not going to tell Antonio the wedding is off!”   
  
“Okay, then I’ll do it for you. Obviously, that would be a bit awkward for you-”   
  
“Don’t you dare, mother!” Gwen said sternly.   
  
“But, Gwen-”   
  
“No buts, Mother, I am marrying Antonio today.”   
  
“What? But Ethan- He came here and pledged his love to you like a hero in some movie and -”   
  
“And he’s married, or did you forget that?”   
  
“A temporary technicality. He can easily get a quickie divorce from that little tart. You can finally have everything you’ve always wanted.”   
  
“I have everything I’ve always wanted …with Antonio. He loves me and just me. And I love him. And if you love  _me,_ Mom, you’ll accept him like you once said you would. In fact, you’ll stand up there today and be the proudest mother of the bride there ever was.”   
  
“Gwen, you love Ethan-”   
  
“A part of me will always love Ethan. Or love what we had a long time ago, at least. But I’m in love with Antonio now and what we have now. If you love me, you’ll support our relationship. If not, you should just walk out of this church now and not come back.”   
  
“You don’t mean that!”   
  
“I do… So what’s it going to be? Are you going to support Antonio and I, or not?”   
  
Rebecca sighed. “Oh, Gwen … As if there’s a question of that! Of course I will always be on your side. If you want Antonio, then I’ll be Team Antonio forever.”   
  
Gwen broke out in a huge grin. “Thank you, Mother.”   
  
“Of course. Let’s get you married.” Rebecca smiled. “But first, let’s fix that mascara!”   
  
Five minutes later, Gwen’s makeup was hurricane-proof and she was walking back into the chapel. She found Antonio nervously pacing in front of the altar. He looked up when she entered and slowed to a stop.   
  
“Antonio,” Gwen started. “I need to tell you-”   
  
“Wait,” Antonio said. “I need to say something first.”   
  
“Uh, okay...”   
  
“I thought things over. I love you so much; more than I’ve ever loved anyone, Gwen. I want us to make it. I think we have what it takes to really go the distance. I want to fight for you because I think no one’s really ever done that for you before. You were always the one fighting to hold onto someone and that’s not fair. So if you choose Ethan, I will have to understand, but I’m not giving up on you either so just know that. I am not going to give up on you because I am certain we belong together and -” He broke off as Gwen was suddenly hurtling herself into his arms and burying her face in the curve of his neck. Fresh tears dampened the collar of his shirt.   
  
“Gwen?” He asked. “What - did I say something wrong?”   
  
Gwen looked up at him as tears trickled down her face. “No, no, Antonio. You said everything right. And I love you too. So, so much. I am not picking Ethan. Not at all. I am choosing the man who always chooses me… That’s you.”   
  
“Oh, Gwen,” he whispered huskily. He kissed her gently on the lips and she smiled into his warm, soft mouth. He rested his forehead against hers. “Marry me now?”   
  
“Try to stop me,” she replied with a laugh.   
  
**THE END.**


End file.
